Trust me I know this isn't the first thread about bug jars but I feel like some of the OP's about this topic are not give enough information on the topic nor keeping up with it. Here I will give you the tools and the info you need to try and figure this mystery out.
If you have a Bug jar you may have noticed some alien writing on the bottom of the jar lid, if not take a look at it...This a Rune marking and perhaps leads to a epic treasure!...well maybe

http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z436/EnigmaBiz2/?action=view¤t=bugjar.jpg#!oZZ1QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs1189.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fz436%2FEnigmaBiz2%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DRune.jpg

http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.html

http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z436/EnigmaBiz2/?action=view¤t=bugjar.jpg

THE BEE - PI(g) under the lid. (I am having issues with the 'g' )

Wunjo: (W or V: Joy.) Joy, comfort, pleasure. Fellowship, harmony, prosperity. Ecstasy, glory, spiritual reward, but also the possibility of going "over the top". If restrained, the meaning is general success and recognition of worth. Wunjo Reversed or Merkstave: Stultification, sorrow, strife, alienation. Delirium, intoxication, possession by higher forces, impractical enthusiasm. Raging frenzy, berzerker.

IsaIsa: (I: Ice.) A challenge or frustration. Psychological blocks to thought or activity, including grievances. Standstill, or a time to turn inward and wait for what is to come, or to seek clarity. This rune reinforces runes around it. Isa Merkstave (Isa cannot be reversed, but may lie in opposition): Ego-mania, dullness, blindness, dissipation. Treachery, illusion, deceit, betrayal, guile, stealth, ambush, plots.

These are just the description of what the Rune stands for and is still subject for interpretation..

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Torchbug_in_a_Jar#Bugs_in_a_Jar

http://www.reddit.com/r/skyrim/comments/nklj2/you_know_those_runes_on_the_lids_of_the_bug_jars/

If you have a picture of a jar with a clear view of the rune please post it so we can discuss.

Thanks and have fun!!

Maybe these runes are locations of secret Dragons in Skyrim?

Like:

Blackreach - The glowing lamp that is hanging down from the ceiling, when shouted at it summons a Dragon..

Or maybe something else..

http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z436/EnigmaBiz2/?action=view¤t=Map.jpg

Attached is a map marking where the jars are located as well as an observation on the placement on 5 main citys. Dustglow Crevice (the moth jar is located almost dead center...almost. Some say that a retual must take place with the 5 jars....what better place then the center of a pentagram?

Have you tried messing with the jars themselves? My guess is when you open them, you learn a dragon word (same as runes show) or some such. Opening them would be the trick... dragon shout, maybe?

I am pretty sure they can not be opened...

Has anyone placed them at the weynon stones? They are almost dead center of that pentagram

It's really annoying how many of these threads there are. Half of these people are stealing the same information and posting it here, whenever there are multiple threads with the EXACT same info that are active right now. People just wanna be famous I guess, which is ironic considering they are posting the same info that is already found in multiple topics.

Here is my opinion. This "huge" mystery ??? It's nothing more than developers initials written in a runic looking way. I also think that these symbols are not runes, and if you research actual runes further, even the biggest believer would start to realize these arent actually runes at all. At least not any existing ones.

I'm not saying there is no chance at a bigger mystery or even that my opinions are the definitive correct ones. I would love for a huge mystery to unravel. The problem is that people are stretching these theories until they become bizarre and fantastical. In other words, ridiculous. The bigger problem is all the people wanting to be a superstar and the talk of the forums keep spreading OTHER peoples insane ideas and passing it along as evidence. Truth be told there is absolutely no proof these are even runes to begin with, so getting this deep into translations and conspiracies is not only a waste of time, its downright silly.

I suggest that before spreading rumors, people do some research to make sure they arent simply copying and pasting the rantings of a madman, amd spreading ideas that are about as based In reality as saying extra-terrestrials planted the runes in the jars.

itsgrady.... there's nothing wrong with people fantasizing over a "mystery" that may be nothing but the air between Alduin's horns. Why get all puffed over it?

It's not the senseless chasing of a dream which is entirely based around an incorrect translation that bugs me. People can Chase ghosts all they want.

It's the duplicate threads that "puffs" me

Theory: P I G = Paul Graber, one of the graphics producers of Skyrim... he would be one of the guys drawing the stuff under the jar.

Got any more initials under the jars? Check the Skyrim credits for a match.
-Loth

Edit: In case y'all didn't know... it's normal for videogame programmers and artists put their initials in a game in some obscure place. It's a nerd thing.

Amen. Sanity amongst the chaos.

I think Bethesda put these Jars in the game for the same reason as embalming tools, just because they can. Nothing more.

Hope I'm wrong though.

Yeah... but what a mundane letdown. I like the idea of some supercool and complicated "secret" being easter egged into the game -- but it's not very practical from a developer standpoint.

Worker: "Hey, man... I just spent 15 hours of my paid working time programming some incredibly obscure thing into the game, sir! No one will probably ever figure it out, but it's super-duper COOL!"
Boss: "You mean I just paid you for 2 solid working days to implement something that no one will probably ever see?"
Worker: "Yup! Aren't you proud of me? THIS is why I'm on the team, sir!"
Boss: "Clean out your desk... you're fired."


-Loth

Someone positing "sanity" in threads regarding a total fantasy world and the games set therein. *sigh* How.... mundane.

Lol. Yea playing tes requires total insanity. After all they are fantasy games.

Lol

Now Its more like this

Friend one- I found a super top secret Easter egg conspiracy shrouded in mystery in the elder scrolls 6
Friend two - you know tes 6 isn't out yet right? this is impossible.
Friend one- stop ruining the mystery! If I want to come up with conspiracies it is my right to do so!

You know.... I'm pretty much one of the major conspiracy theorists of this or any other age. There's nothing wrong with that. "Just because you think there's an enemy behind every bush doesn't mean there isn't."

I don't see any reason for anyone to get knickers in a twist over something that provides some light-hearted posting fodder. Makes a nice change from threads about cannibalism....

Yeah... it's not like the guys on the dev team were under the gun with some manufactured deadline to release the game, or anything... they left game-breaking bugs into numerous questlines, but had time to craft some wildly obscure thing involving nordic runes into the game, and left no hints about any of it anywhere except under the lids of a couple of unique items they scattered all over the map.
-Loth

Edit: Still, the guys and gals who went through the trouble of digging up all the rune stuff and such and came up with the wild conjectures about their significance should not be hated upon... ridiculed, yes... but not hated.

PS You guys are total geeks.

Er. Loth.... I haven't had any bugs at all.... much less game-breaking.... And while you and others apparently have, that still doesn't mean threads of speculation on this need to be vilified. And I edited that before I saw that you edited.... ACK.... Ah well.

I have. So have a lot of other folks besides me. For example, having to release a patch almost immediately after releasing the game bespeaks of a rush job. And then a patch to fix the patch, but then causes more problems, and so another patch, etc... welcome to the video game industry, I guess. This is part of the normal cycle for some companies, and making a game with the scope and complexity of Skyrim invites all kinds of design challenges that it would be semi-unrealistic to expect perfection on the first try. I think they did a good job on the game, personally... not too bad, anyway -- and I'll be glad when the CK comes out, so let's just say that, and end it.
-Loth

Yep.... though I didn't patch right away. In fact, having to patch through steam (the entire dependence on steam pisses me off ROYALLY....) means that I'm always at least a week down the road since I don't think to check - steam runs offline, I NEVER allow stuff like that unlimited online access....

Good call, Serethil... I'm anti-steam as well. Still playing Skyrim 1.12, actually. I'm not patching until the ck comes out. When I hit a bugged questline, I just use the console to solve it.
-Loth

It's nice for us on PCs, though I do feel sorry for those with no option other than console platforms. Lot of water-under-the-bridge stuff with me and Beth right now, back-porting to PC being the main one. But that's not really a rant for this forum, and it's past bedtime for me (husband and cat giving me "the look") so I'd best shut up I guess.

Happy gaming!

they're not runes. by any stretch of the imagination, it's grasping at straws at best since most of the letters have no rune equivalent or approximation. all symbolic languages such as chinese, japanese, hebrew and russian are exceedingly specific - a single dash or dot extra changes the meaning entirely. sometimes, to the exact opposite. worse, even assuming the runes are correct, their meaning is arbitrary at best. 'comfort, challenge, sorrow' for example, could explain every quest available in every video game from at least 1 party's perspective. because history is volatile, this phrase could expand to mean economic environment, political status or yellowness of the author's urine. for example, comfort challenge sorrow is actually a commentary on meeko's owner. at first, he could urinate and it brought comfort. as solute imbalance propagated due to poor diet, it became a challenge because it started to hurt. in advanced renal failure, the urine appearing red made it clear that meeko was on his own forever, indicating sorrow.

the map shows they are approximately halfway between the 5 central cities. likely, they were put there because there were 5 cities - it makes them easily accessible. parsimony says the reddit community has been following a popular cartoon called "full metal alchemist" too closely. the main plot in the cartoon is that each city is ideal for large human sacrifices necessary to construct a special stone (weynon?) of extraordinary power. however, by using transmutation magic known as alchemy, a sufficiently skilled entity could use 5 cities in a special 'alchemy circle' in order to bring the world's end and absolute power. of course, why being a god of a deserted continent would be desirable is somewhat of a conundrum.

For the lulz, I went and consoled in all the bug in jars to my current character and looked under the lids. What I found was easily recognizable English lettering which I will share below:

Bee in Jar: DKT
Butterfly: PIG
Dragonfly: JWT
Moth: MT
Torchbug: ZWKT

Interpret however you will, but I maintain that it is most likely developer initials, or the initials of several devs clumped into one series, and/or family members of same (wives, husbands, kids, dogs, etc.)
-Loth